Abū al-ʿAbbās al-Saffāḥ, ʿAbd Allāh b. Muḥammad b. ʿAlī b. ʿAbd Allāh b. ʿAbbās b. ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib (104–13 Dhū al-Ḥijja 136/722–9 June 754) was the first ʿAbbāsid caliph.

An examination of the factors which led to the collapse of the Umayyad caliphate and an analysis of the general circumstances of that period are essential for an understanding of the personality, life and caliphate of Abū al-ʿAbbās al-Saffāḥ. Yet, despite the availability of substantial source material, the task of describing the precise conditions which…